If there were an obvious formula to constructing championship-winning routines, we’d quit our day jobs and become legendary college coaches.
That said, there are certain skills and combinations that have become so ubiquitous to the point of seeming like requirements. We’re also seeing more and more “streamlined” routines that minimize deductions by leveraging workarounds in the Code of Points.
It stands to reason that these routine constructions are driven by results, but what does the data say?
We’ve broken down every routine from every gymnast who’s placed first through third at nationals since 2016 to see what skills are the most common and what, if any, patterns emerge.
Why 2016? It’s the year the Yurchenko full was devalued from a 10.0 start value to a 9.950. It’s also the year that NCAA championships moved from a panel of four judges to six, changing the dynamic of risk/reward in postseason routines.
Let’s see how closely this year’s winning routines stack up to the data-based predictions.
Individual Vaults
| Year | No. of winners | Yurchenko half | Yurchenko full | Yurchenko 1.5 | Yurchenko double | FHS pike half |
| 2016 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | Read more…
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